Regulating post-16 VTQs at L2 and L3
Ofqual's regulatory approach (Accreditation)
Accreditation of V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates
Some qualifications Ofqual regulates are subject to an accreditation requirement, under Section 138(1) of the ASCL 2009 Act. Where this is the case, an awarding organisation may not award that qualification until it has been accredited by Ofqual. Qualifications which must currently be accredited are GCSEs and AS and A Levels. We have also recently consulted on applying an accreditation requirement to Technical Qualifications within T Levels.
For a qualification to be accredited, an awarding organisation must meet Ofqual’s accreditation criterion, which is:
An awarding organisation must demonstrate to Ofqual’s satisfaction that it is capable of complying, on an on-going basis, with all of the General Conditions of Recognition that apply in respect of the qualification for which it is seeking accreditation, including all relevant Qualification Level Conditions and Subject Level Conditions.
Ofqual typically determines whether a qualification meets the accreditation criterion by reviewing draft materials such as specifications, sample assessments and an awarding organisation’s assessment strategy.
Proposal
V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates are new qualifications, designed against common content, with a high degree of consistency and comparability expected between awarding organisations. We propose that each qualification must be accredited before it can be delivered, to ensure that only qualifications of the required quality can be delivered.
Ofqual’s existing powers allow us to add V Levels and Foundation Certificates to the list of qualifications subject to an accreditation requirement. Occupational Certificates are covered by separate legislation which gives the Secretary of State power to allow Ofqual to determine whether they should be subject to an accreditation requirement. The Secretary of State has notified Ofqual that it may make such a determination to accredit Occupational Certificates, and we propose to do so.